52 surrendered Boko Haram terrorists in Gombe to be rehabilitated

About 52 Boko Haram terrorists who laid down their arms in Gombe State are now undergoing de-radicalisation and rehabilitation in the state.

The Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC) established to restore peace in the northeast, Major-General Bamidele Shafa, commended them for choosing to lay down arms.

He urged them to use the opportunity at the camp to become better citizens, while also advising them to be disciplined and conduct themselves according to the rules and regulations at the camp.

The insurgents were conveyed in a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) C-130 jet, marked NAF913.

They were screened before undergoing documentation that include the filling in of a consent and enrolment form, as well as medical fitness test before they were admitted into the camp.

Shafa said the ex-combatants would be exposed to various programmes, including learning genuine nationalism to make them better citizens.

He disclosed that a pilot batch of six ex-combatants, had graduated from the camp last June, while “some abductees and ex-combatants have undergone extensive therapies in spiritual counseling, psychotherapy and drug abuse intervention.”

The coordinator disclosed further that the reformed terrorists would be taught various vocations as western education, arts, social works and sports before resettling them in their original places of residence.

He said: “This is a clarion call and a corridor of opportunity to the remaining insurgents who are still in the bush to heed the Federal Government’s arrangements for their re-integration. The condition at the rehabilitation facility is more comfortable than the horrible condition of those still fighting in the bush.”